The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-08-24

THE HNMPToNs, Aug. 21.-''The Facts
Proved is the subject of discourse by
the Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, today.
His text is from Acts XIV, 3: 1--WE are
witnesses. Following is his sermon in
full:
In the days Of George Stephenson, the
perfector Of the locomotive engine. the
scientists proved conclusively that a rail
way train could never be driven bv
steam power successfully and without
peril, but the rushing express trains
from Liverpool to Edinburgh, and from
Edinburgh TO London, have made all the
nation Witnesses Of the splendid achieve
ment. Machinists and nayigators proved
conclusiyely that a steamer could never
cross the Atlantic ocean, but no sooner had
they successfully proved the impossibi1ity
Of such an undertaking than the work
was done, and the passengers on the Gu
nard, and the Inmsn, and the National
and the White Star lines are witnesses.
There went up guffaw Of wise laughter
at Professor Morse's proposition to make
the lightning Of heaven his errand boy.
and it was proved conclusively that the
thing could never be done: but now all
the news of the wide world, by Associ-
ated Press put into your hands every
morning and night, has made all nations
witnesses.
oin the time of Christ it was proved
conclusively that it was impossible for
him 10 rise from the dead. 1t was shown
logically that when a man was dead, he
was dead, and the heart and the liver and
the lungs having ceased TO perform their
Offices the limbs would be rigid beyond
all power Of friction or arousal. They
showed it to be an absolute absurdity that
the dead Christ should ever get up alive:
but no sooner had they proved this than
the dead Christ arose, and the disciples
beheld him, heard his voice, and talked
with him, and they took the witness
stand 10 prove that 10 be true which the
wiseacres Of the day had proved 10 be i'm
possible; the record Of the experiment
and Of the testimony is in the text: Him
hath God raised from the dead whereof
we are witnesses. "
Now let me play the skeptic for mo-
ment. There is no God, SAYS the
skeptic, ''for l have never seen him with
my physical eyesight. Your Bible is a
pack of contradictions. There never was
q miracle. Lazarus was not raised from
the dead, and the water was never turned
into wine. Your religion is an imposi-
ton on the credulity of the ages There
is an aged man moving III that pew as
though he would ike to respond. Here
are hundreds Of people with faces little
flushed at these announcements, and all
through this house there is a suppressed
feeling which would like to speak out in
behalf Of the truth OF our glorious Chris
tianity, as in the days of the text, crying
out: 1--WE are Witnesses
IL
brought to God it will not be through ar
gument, but through testimony. You
might cover the whole earth with apollo
gies for Christianity and learned treatises
in defense of reigiOn--you would not
convert a soul. Lectures on the harmony
between science and religion are beauti-
full mental discipline, but have never
saved a soul and never will save a soul.
Put a man of the world and man of the
church against each other and the man of
the world viii in all probability get the
triumph. There are a thousand things in
our religion that seem illogical to the
world, and always viii seem illogical.
Our weapon in this conflict is faith,
not logic: faith, not metaphysics; faith,
not profundity; faith, not scholastic ex-
ploration. But then, In order to have
-
five hundred men, or one thousand men,
or five hundred thousand men, or five
million men get up and tell me that they
have felt the religion of Jesus Christ Joy,
a comfort, help an inspiration, | am
bound as a fair minded man TO accept
their testimony. l want Just now to put
before you three propositions, the truth
of which think this audience viii attest
with ovpt-xv altuinr, uuanip1itv
The first proposition is: We are wit
nesses that the religion of Christ is able
to convert a soul.
The Gospel may have had hard time
to conquer us, we may have fought il
back, but we were vanquished. You
say conversion is only an imaginary
thing. We know better. eve are wit
nesses. There never was SO great &
change in our heart and life on any other
subject as on this. People laughed al
the missionaries in Madagascar because
they preached ten years without one con
vert; but there are 33, 600 converts il
Madagascar today. People laughed al
Dr. Judson, the Baptist missionary, be
cause he kept on preaching in BurmaE
five years without single convert; bu
there are 90 900 Baptists in Burmah to
day. People laughed at DIR. Morrison, il
China for preaching there seven year.
without single conversion; bat there arr
$4,000 Christians in China today. PEG
pie laughed at the missionaries for preach
ing at Tahiti for fifteen years without ;
single conversion, and at the missionaries
for preaching in Bengal for seventeen
years without single conversion; yet il
all those lands there are multitudes o
Christians today.
But why go so far to find evidences o
the Gospels power to save a soul? ''W
are witnesses. We We're so proud tina
no man could have humbled us; we wer,
so hard that no earthly power could hav
melted us: angels of God were all AROUND
about us; they could not overcome us
but one day, perhaps at a Methods
anxious seat. or at Presbyterian cathe
chetical lecture, or at a burial or OF
horseback, power seized us, and mad
Us get down. and made us tremble, ant
made us kneel, and made us cry 70
mercy, and we tried TO wrench ourselve
away from the grasp, but we could not
IL flung us fiat, and when we arose w
were as much changed as Gourgis, tn
heather, who went into prayer meet
ing with dagger and a gun to distur
the meeting and destroy it, but the mex
day was found crying: "Oh! my grea
sins! Oh! my great Saviour" and 70
eleven years preached the Gospel @
Christ to his fellow mountaineers. Tia
last words ON his dying lips being Free
grace" Oh, it was free gracel
There is a man who was for ten years
q hard drinker. The dreadful appetite
had sent down its roots around the pal
ate and the tongue, and on down unit
they were interlined with the vitals OF
body, mind and soul; but he has not
taken any stimulants for two years.
What did that? Not temperance socie-
ties. Not prohibition laws. Not moral
suasion. Conversion did it. why
said one upon whom the great change
had come, ''sir, / feel just as though
were somebody else. -
There is a sea captain who swore all
the way from New York to Havana, and
from Havana to San Francisco, and
when he was in port he was worse than
when he was ON the sea. What power
was il that washed his tongue clean OF
profanities, and made him psalm sing
err Conversion by the Holy Spirit.
There are thousands Of people in this
house tonight who are no more what
they once were than water lily is night
shade, or a morning lark is a vulture, OF
day is night.
Now, if / should demand that all those
people in this house who have felt the
converting power of religion should rise,
SO far from being ashamed, they would
spring TO their feet with more alacrity
than they ever sprang to the dance, the
tears mingling with their exhilaration as
they cried: I'VE are Witnesses And
if they tried to sing the old Gospel hymn,
they would break down with emotion l1y